Almost Anything

The eagles returned to their clifftop eyrie and deposited a small deer as a reward to Minna for guarding their eggs. The young dragon had earned their trust by regularly delivering morsels to their remote nest. Adoring their glorious plumage, yet baffled by their high-pitched cries, Minna nevertheless enjoyed the protection their hide-out offered. She spent hours fanning the creamy blotched eggs, longing for the fledglings to hatch. It would be good practise for when she laid eggs of her own. She remembered how, struck by the arrows of ignorant men while the sun was at its height, their invisible cloaks had proved ineffective and her parents had come crashing to their deaths. Consoling herself that at least they had died together, as far as she knew she was the last of her kind.

Unless…

Wearing her own cloak of invisibility which had been handed down from generations of dragons, Minna left her eagle friends and flew over the White Mountains, so named in the summer for their limestone faces, and in the winter for their snow-capped peaks. Dipping her feet in the shallows of Serenity Pool, she hovered awhile dreaming of Asterion. Falsely maligned as a beast and disdainfully referred to as the Minotaur, he was both a prisoner and social outcast on the island of Crete. It was said he demanded the sacrifice of fourteen youths every nine years from the Greek mainland to satisfy his monstrous appetite.

Such claims were preposterous and untrue. Minna tried to suppress her anger at all the injustices heaped upon Asterion because she did not want the tell-tale signs of smoke whorls to become visible in the sky when her cloak began to dissolve, but it was galling when she knew Asterion’s diet mostly consisted of vegetables. He was after all half-human himself. At the bequest of his mother, he’d resisted all attempts at being forced to eat human flesh. He told Minna that he suspected his stepfather, King Minos, had privately ordered the young people’s destruction as a way of vexing the sea god Poseidon. It wouldn’t be the first time King Minos had angered the god.

Minna longed for Asterion to join her on one of the rocky humps that sprang out of the sea pool. She’d once tried to describe the sea to him, but having lived in dark tunnels for so long, he seemed baffled. He’d never been to the sea, never known what it was to be charmed by its emerald and turquoise waters, never witnessed the way the colours blended into one another. She needed to learn the art of patience. While for her the endless crash of white surf upon golden sand was a source of delight, that might not be true for Asterion. While she had every intention of rescuing him, she couldn’t help wondering where and how they would live. How would she even bear the weight of him on her back if he were to escape his dreadful prison? She immediately cursed herself for defeatist thinking. Of course she could carry him. Love would find a way.

But all that was in the future. Now spotting a group of palms that broke the rugged landscape, she scooped up their fruit, and continued valiantly on her way to Knossos, home of King Minos and the terrifying Labyrinth that lay beneath his palace.

 ***

Flying through cloudless blue, the heat was starting to pick up. Minna hoped to reach the magnificent palace in Knossos with its red pillars, before overheating and revealing her true nature to the world. By which she meant the human world. Animals already had their eyes opened and either gave her a wide berth or were grateful for her protection. Oh, there were so many things unknown to humans. Only a few had true discernment and saw beyond the surface. So often they made melodramas out of nothing and waged wars that could easily have been avoided. Yet, they also had lovable, even heroic qualities. But for now, with mind and body soaring, she cast aside the dangers and under love’s umbrella, flew with a light heart.

***

The first time Minna heard that melancholic deep-throated roar, it had stirred passions she hadn’t known existed. The creature’s cry had made her reckless when she should have been circumspect. But whoever heard of a cautious dragon? Rising up from the bowels of the earth, the sound could be heard by anyone passing the palace walls. Further afield, dogs and wolves howled an eerie response. Minna, knowing her cloak of invisibility would only last if she was able to withdraw from the sun’s rays and spend hours recovering, ignored the shimmering in the sky.

Luckily, on the ground, people were preoccupied with their own business. There was only an old woman dressed in a black cloak lingering near the palace walls, her eyes peeled heavenward, but that didn’t count.

***

Since King Minos’s proclamation a month earlier, Minna had not had a moment’s peace. She remembered her parents talking of the ancient times when dragons had been loved and revered by humans. This new edict tormented her:

The mighty Minos issues a special proclamation on the great isle of Crete: that any man who can prove he has killed a dragon, will be rewarded with half of my wealth and the hand in marriage of my beautiful daughter Ariadne.

Drawing close to the Cretan shore, a pod of dolphins sliced through the water, their silvery backs leaping playfully. Moving in unison, they clicked and called out to one another in high notes, singing of shipwrecks and sailors lost at sea. Minna longed to join them, but time was running out.

Slowly descending, light reflected from the palace’s open-plan white stone floors. They were held in place by pillars of opaque red. Skimming the rooftops Minna thought wantonly of the creature waiting for her in the underground chambers. For now, the chattering of birds had ceased, and the air was strangely silent. The bellowing that emanated from a creature that was half human, half bull, confined in the cave-like maze, had alarmed them.

***

The first time Minna had visited the palace, she had lighted on the treasury where hoards of gold coins were kept and duly accounted for. In the few minutes the accountant had left them unattended on the counting table, Minna had seized her chance.

Following on from this small success, it was only natural to want to discover the beast’s lair, especially on hearing it was nigh on impossible to penetrate the huge underground maze that served as his prison. That only made Minna want to try all the more.

Besides which, dragons are not easily beaten.

On her second visit, Minna discovered a vent, long disused, hidden away, and covered in tall weeds. It had been easy to prize open the bars and enter the underground tunnels without anyone knowing. By the third visit, still under the cloak of invisibility, Minna had little trouble locating the creature housed within.

***

In a bid to impress his lovely dragon, the Minotaur had cleaned up one of his chambers. He loved Minna for many reasons. Not least, was the fact she seemed to be the only being who didn’t mind that his birth was the result of the King’s wife mating with a bull. It distressed him to think that for most people his very existence was an abomination. When Poseidon, the vengeful god of the sea, demanded King Minos sacrifice a beautiful snow-white bull after he had made him king of Crete, Minos sacrificed an inferior bull and kept the best one for himself. As a punishment, Poseidon made the king’s wife Pasiphae, fall in love with the bull. When she became pregnant and gave birth to a half human/half bull, she lovingly tended her baby/calf herself. Eventually, King Minos ordered Daedalus, his talented architect, against his will, to design a labyrinth to contain the creature. Out of love for his wife, Minos did not want the Minotaur harmed.

The Minotaur’s dark eyes shone brightly in the half-light, the curved horns well-formed and majestic. Seated on a roughly hewn bench, his golden-white skin glowed in anticipation. It was easy to see how his mother had fallen for his father.

Asterion blinked at the sight of Minna. That uniquely shaped mouth had driven her wild the moment she encountered him; its movements were endearingly restless. She had never seen his mother so could not know he had something of her smile before she’d been taken from him when he turned from a child/calf into a demanding adolescent. His man’s body with its powerful shoulders soon emerged. Except with hooves for feet and claws for hands, it wasn’t quite a man’s body. The manliest part he covered with a tunic of linen. Minna remembered the transformation from beast to man, back to beast, from her last visit all too well. Now, quivering in his arms, she gasped as he pressed his mouth to hers.

“I knew you would come,” he said, trying to stop his tail from wagging. “I’ve been dying to see you. My life is empty when you’re not around.” His bull nature coming to the fore again, he licked his lips greedily. “Have you brought the food?”

“I have.” Minna laughed at his eagerness. She would have to teach him to savour the dates rather than swallow them whole.

“I’ve never shared anything before,” he admitted. “It feels amazing.”

After they’d eaten and enjoyed other delights which modesty forbids mentioning, the Minotaur asked Minna how long she was able to stay.

“Only a few more hours, I’m afraid. It will be safer to get back before Dawn breaks.”

“Of course.”

He stroked her face making her scales quiver.

“Have your thought any more about escaping? You could hide in the eyrie.” There were no easy answers to such questions, but she asked them anyway.

“He withdrew his hand. “We both know escaping is a pipe dream, Minna. Unlike you, I have no cloak of invisibility. Besides which, my presence would endanger you and I couldn’t bear that. We are both social outcasts. We are hunted creatures, misunderstood by many.”

A tear dropped from the large brown eye, landing on Minna’s hand. “You know, I would do anything to fit in if I was allowed my freedom. My mother did not bring me up to be savage and inhuman. She brought me up well. All I’ve ever wanted was to be accepted by humans and fit into their ways, but they wouldn’t let me. I’d have done anything they asked to be part of their society but it wasn’t allowed. I’d still do anything if they asked.”

Minna sat up straight, her eyes blazing.

“Anything? Would you sacrifice me if the king, your stepfather, asked it of you? Don’t forget he’s forced me to be an outcast too! It was his father who ordered the deaths of my parents.”

Asterion bleated in pain. “I should have said I’d do almost anything. Sacrificing you is the one thing I cannot do.”

”Not even if it meant your freedom?”

“I could never harm a scale on your body, Minna. Or, allow anyone else to. How can you ever doubt my love?” He asked her tearfully.

“I’m sorry. It must be the effect of being in this dreadful place. I can’t bear leaving you cooped up like this. It’s no life,” she cried.

“And yet it’s all I’ve ever known since I was an adolescent and judged unfit to be seen by fellow humans.” His sigh had become one of resignation.

“But I’m sure I could find a way to hide you,” Minna said determinedly. “If only you’d let me try. You cannot remain here forever.”

His smile emerged like the sun from a dark cloud.

“You’re incorrigible, my darling Minna. I tell you what. If it will make you feel better, we’ll talk more about it when you next visit.” He winked. “Just make sure you bring me that delicious fruit. The grapes you brought me from the time before haven’t yet fermented.” It would be a new experience for one who’d never drunk wine before and he was looking forward to it immensely. “Will you be satisfied with that?”

Her sigh was a gentle rumble. “I guess I’ll have to be.”

***

Minna was guarding the newly hatched chicks when the eagles flew up to the nest accosting her with the most disturbing news.

“It is said the prince Theseus from Athens has entered the palace maze with a sword and intends to slay your bull. There’s no time to lose if you want to help him”

Horrified, Minna looked at the sky. The midday sun was at its hottest, the worst time for exposure.

However, there was nothing to be done so ignoring the risks, Minna flew without stopping. In a white haze, she saw nothing of her surroundings. On arriving at the maze, she recognised the old woman from before. One of the few humans able to discern the presence of a dragon, she called out to Minna.

“You must get away from here. The king knows about you. He saw the broken vent and confronted Asterion who was drunk on wine. He promised his stepson he would release him and make him part of his court if he told him who had broken in.”

”You mean he betrayed me,” Minna said, horrified.

“The king came out boasting he would hunt the last dragon down. He then broke his word and left Asterion in the maze.”

Minna was overcome by pain and rage. She had to know the truth for herself.

“You must not enter the maze,” the woman continued. “You’ll only distress yourself. Since then the bull has been slain by Theseus, the prince of Athens. He arrived on a boat that had a black sail with the young people meant for sacrifice. He broke into the maze carrying a sword and aided by a red thread provided by King Minos’s daughter who immediately fell in love with him, was able to make his way out of the Labyrinth without getting lost. He emerged carrying the bull’s horns and skin as a trophy and they all left the island on his boat. There were whispers he got to the bull because it was in a state of drunken despair. Either way, Theseus will be regarded as a hero on the mainland.

“Stop!” Minna covered her ears. “I can’t bear it.”

The woman held out a restraining hand. “You must not go in. You don’t want to remember Asterion badly. I was his mother’s nurse, you see. I helped deliver him at his birth. He wouldn’t have wanted it. Neither would he have meant to betray you.”

Heartbroken, Minna fell to the floor weeping and cursing. “All this cannot be.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman said. “Life is cruel. Now you must leave and never return to this terrible place.”

In grief, Minna turned in circles, fire flaring from her nostrils.

“You must leave before the king comes out and sees you,” the woman commanded. “You’re vulnerable and he’ll kill you as his father killed your parents.”

Though it seemed pointless, Minna forced herself to her feet.

As soon as she rose, there was a sudden jolt. The ground shook and before long, the palace pillars started to crack.

“Leave now!” It’s an earthquake! Leave!” The woman shouted.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve had my life. Now, go!”

Unfortunately, in her haste Minna accidentally trampled on a unicorn trying to leave the scene.

“You clumsy oaf!” The unicorn screamed. “I curse you! Any eggs you produce will not hatch.”

The earth shifted again and Minna’s tears soaked the creature’s mane. “Oh! Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she pleaded, opening her wings. “I came here to rescue the bull I loved, but I arrived too late!”

Seeing her distress, the unicorn relented a little. “It’s too late to help me, but maybe you’ve suffered enough already. I can tell you no good will come from your love of gold. You will need to make many sacrifices before you are purified. It’s your destiny to leave this island and find another in the northern hemisphere where there are forests and rivers. Things will never go right for you until you help the boy with the golden hair.”

“What do you mean?” Minna asked, but the unicorn had uttered his last breath. He gave a strange whinny and died in front of her.

***

 Poseidon’s antics had turned the daytime sky an uncharacteristic grey, but Minna hardly cared. Homeland abandoned, she flew like a mad thing, her mind a maelstrom of grief and despair, until reaching the westernmost point where the Aegean becomes one with the Atlantic, her pain subsided. Truly, some things are meant to be. She was no more able to fight her destiny than Asterion could have stopped being an outcast. She could only pray the eagles with their little family had been spared destruction on their rocky perch.

Now, she must head for the temperate isle described by the unicorn for she would never fit in here. She must depart her beloved Crete for another place where new adventures awaited her: a land where if the inhabitants wouldn’t accept her, she could remain undetected for long periods. It might be a place of rain and dreary skies where the days rarely grew hot, but it was also rumoured to be a paradise of forests furnished with oak, pine and birch, where rivers flowed, and lush meadows abounded. She would keep searching until she found the golden boy predicted by the unicorn. As for the rest of the advice? Well, she’d have to see about that. Feeling the quickening of new life within her, the imprint left by the bull, she slowed her pace. For the first time, she was thinking with a mother’s mind.

Then, clutching the gold coins she’d wrapped in a cloth from Minos’s palace, she resumed her flight until she could feel no more.